Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1887-05-11
NATURES QUEEN.

'o1 loVe anu poetry, q pef1ectlOn OF
floral beauty, and with its dainty color
ing and exquisite fragrance, "the sweet
est flower full nature yields"
Poets Of all ages have sung the
praises of the rose. 1t has been woven
into crowns, heaped into beds, twincd'n-
to arbors, adorned the goblets devoted to
the festivals of Bacchus, as we'll as all
styles of sculpture, each beauty used
as an object of comparison with the
loveliest work of nature. "As soft as
a rose-leaf,,' "sweet as a rose,'' tsrosy
cheeks" "rosy dawns," .'rosy Clouds"
etc.
Solomon calls it "the rose of Sharon,''
and Isaiah uses it in a striking COM
parison. "The wilderness and solitary
place shall be glad for them, and the
desert shall rejoice and blossom as the
rose."
The Greeks dedicated roses to the
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said to be passionately fond of them.
AS late as the sixteenth century they
were always placed over their confess
ionals as an emblem of strictest priva-
cy, accompanied BY the motto sub rosa.
They were at great expense to procure
them in the winter, and it is said that
Nero spent 1000, 900 of sesterces (ncar-
ly $4,000 for roses at one supper,
while the Turks cannot bear that one
rose-leaf should fall to the ground, be-
cause many believe that the first rose
sprang from the blood of Venus.
= At these feasts of roses, the flower of
the great hall, OF open-fronted @'talar,"
is spread in the middle with roses, form
ing the figure of cypress trees Roses
decorate all the candlesticks, which are
very numerous. The surface of the
''hawz,' or reservoir of water, is COM
pletely covered with rose-leaves, as
we'll as the principal walks leading to
the mansion.
In tie East, particularly in Persia,
the rose Aourishes in great beauty.
One of their most famous works is
called .The Garden of roses" from
which we gather, that every year a fes-
tival is held there, the ':Feast of the
Roses" which lasts all the while they
are in bloom.
And all is ecstasy now.
The valley holds its feast Of roses.
That joyous time when pleasures pour
PrOfusely round, and in their shower
Hearts open like a seasons rose.
There is no country in the world
where the rose grows in such perfec-
ton as in Persia. The gardens and
courts are crowded by these plants;
rooms are oramented with vases filled
with gathered branches, and every path
strewn with the full-blown flowers.
And added to the scent of the roses is
the nightiHga]e's wild and beautiful
notes, which increase at the unfolding
of their favorite flowers. Tradition
says you may place a handful of sweet
smelling herbs and flowers before the
nightingale, yet in his constant heart he
only desires the rose.
.'Though rich the spot,
With every flower this earth has got,
What is it to the nightingale
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The finest roses are all brought
from the East, where they are raised
in great quantities, as an article of
commerce. Ghazipore may be called
''the rose-bed of India" For miles
about the town are continued gardens
of roses and the sight is said to be
dazzling-a carpet of mingled green
and red, and the air laden with sweet
est odors, which are waited far across
the river Ganges. This vast cultivation
is for the manufacture of rose-water,
which is in such great demand. The
colors range from the most delicate
pink to deepest crimson, purest white
to a brilliant yellow. and though fading
quickly. fresh buds fill the places con-
t~inually of those that are gone.
There are some curious customs con-
nected with the rose. The name of
''Rosiere'' is given in France to the girl
who has been the most modest and
dutiful throughout the year, a crown
of roses being placed upon her. head.
This custom was instituted in the sixth.
century by a bishop of Noyon, and at
the end of the eleventh century a
tribute of roses was rendered to
Parliament by the Peers of France dur
ing the months of April, May, and
June, on which days sittings were held
in the great hall. The Peer who was to
pay the tribute went by the distinguish
ed title of ''Rosier de la Cour," and on
that day his duty was to see that the
rooms of the palace were strewn with
roses and other sweet flowers. Before
the sitting commenced, he went into
every chamber with a large bowl of
silver containing as many crowns and
bouquets of roses as there were mem
bers of Parliament. The origin of this
custom is quite unknown.
Roses are upon sculptures in. the
Cathedral at Upsala, Sweden. The
rose has always been al ecclesiastical.
emblem. and even in heather days was.
regarded as a mystic flower. Rome
has made good use Of the flower, and
rosaries, no doubt, originated from
that word. The beads of the Monks
were said to be made of rose-leuyes,
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